719. Bathing Elderly Man Bong Covered in Thick Black Grime, Practicing Semchigo as if Washing a Baby

💌 719. Bathing Elderly Man Bong Covered in Thick Black Grime, Practicing Semchigo as if Washing a Baby

No matter how busy I was, visiting elderly man Bong, Ildong almost every single day was always my top priority. I would bring him food and anything else he needed. Since he could not do laundry, I bought him new clothes and washed them regularly to keep them clean. But his body was covered in thick, black grime and gave off a strong odor.

I often wondered how elderly man Bong, who was blind, had managed to bathe on his own all this time. After I had been visiting him for a while and we had grown a bit closer, I gently asked,

“Grandpa, how have you been managing to bathe?”

He sighed and replied,

 “Bathing? I could not even dream of it. I just fetched some water now and then to roughly wash my face.”

I felt so heartbroken that the elderly man had not been able to bathe properly, and my heart was filled with the desire to wash him myself. Although I had wiped down beggars who visited my home with warm wet towels since I was a child, until then, I had never bathed an adult man other than my own children.

Before I started partaking in the sufferings, I could not even use the restroom if a man was nearby. Having suffered greatly because of many men, I came to regard all men with caution. After coming to know God, I was able to share Christ-centered love even with men, but if anyone looked at me as a woman and tried to love me in a human or worldly way, I cut off the relationship without hesitation.

But since the elderly man could not see, I figured he would not feel uncomfortable, and I made a firm decision—I would bathe elderly man Bong il-dong myself. My heart filled with a longing to cleanse the wounds and accumulated grime of both the soul and body of a person, looking past gender.

So I said to myself, “I will bathe elderly man Bong, practicing Semchigo as if I were bathing Baby Jesus.”

With that heart, I first sought the elderly man’s permission. “Grandfather,” I said gently, “I would really like to give you a bath. Would that be alright with you?” Startled, he replied, “Oh my, kind lady… How could you even think of bathing an old man like me? I appreciate it, but Ma’am, you might have a hard time doing that.”

“Grandfather, I would really like to. Just think of me as your daughter giving you a bath, and please feel at ease,” I said, reassuring him. I meditated on Shimcheong’s heart as she bathed her blind father. With the same heart I have when bathing my own children, I quickly went outside, filled several buckets with water, and heated them over the fire in agungi (furnace).

The elderly man had not been able to go to a barbershop or salon for a long time. His hair, if left uncut, would fall over his face, so it seemed he had been cutting it roughly by himself. I began by offering a Prayer of Life and carefully trimmed his uneven, grease-laden hair. Then, I soaked his body thoroughly with warm water to loosen the grime that had built up over time.

Then I beseeched Jesus, “Oh Jesus, thank You for allowing me to bathe the elderly man. In order that he may not feel any discomfort, please let it not be my hands, but Yours and the Blessed Mother’s that wash him. Please completely open, cleanse, wash, and heal everything that is clogged in his soul and body. Let Your glory be revealed through this.”

With the Prayer of Life, I washed every part of his body. He did not even have toilet paper, so he had not been able to clean himself properly after bowel movements. As a result, the waste had dried and caked all the way to the front. I gently soaked and washed that area as well. But because it had been stuck for so long, even after soaking, it was difficult to remove completely.

Even so, I offered it up through Semchigo as if I were simply washing my own fingers, and I took extra care to make sure the elderly man would not feel uncomfortable. No matter how many times I cleansed him, there was still an oily residue from years of built-up grime. I continued washing him again and again, turning each motion into a prayer that even the sorrow of the poor elderly man, who may have endured nothing but suffering throughout his life, might be washed away—and with that prayer, not a single moment felt tiring.

After washing him thoroughly, I dried him off with a clean towel and dressed him in the new clothes I had brought. The worn and shabby look he had before was completely gone. Now he looked soft and fresh, and to my eyes, like a baby angel. “Grandfather, it is all done. Do you feel refreshed?”

With a choked voice, he replied, “Ma’am, thank you so much... truly, thank you…” and began to cry, unsure of what to do.

I warmly comforted him, saying, “Grandfather, from now on I will take care of you, so please do not worry. From now on, I will be your daughter.” From that time, I was able to bathe adult men. I continued to wash elderly man Bong with Semchigo as if I were washing my own children. Then Veronica, a praise volunteer who knew that I was bathing men during my volunteer work, said to me.

“Hey, sister! Is it really okay to bathe men?”

“Why not? I am just washing them with the same heart as I would wash my own children.”

“Then, is it okay when you wash their private parts too?”

 “When I bathe those people, I practice Semchigo as if it were like washing my fingers—what is different from washing fingers?”

“Ah, you really are something~” and we all burst out laughing together.

Even when I was misunderstood while practicing love for my neighbors, I always joyfully gave glory to the Lord.

“My beloved Lord, You alone are my light, my comfort. I wholeheartedly offer my unworthy self to You. Amen!”

My personal reflection note with Mama Julia🌹💗 

Link 👇🏻

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